If you're planning on buying an iPad 3, don't expect to use your iPad 2 case with it. At least if new leaked photos of the iPad 3 bezel turn out to be real.

Rumor site M.I.C. Gadget has posted new pictures of what it claims to be the forthcoming iPad 3 bezel, compared side-by-side to the iPad 2 bezel.

One of the images (below) shows the best view yet of how the iPad 3 compares to iPad 2 thickness-wise. The site claims that the iPad 3 is 1.0 to 1.5 mm thicker than the iPad 2. It appears from the photo that Apple was able to gain space in the cavity of the iPad 3 by making the top glass thinner.

Another photo purports to show the iPad 3 camera hole which is clearly larger than the hole in the iPad 2, supporting rumors that it's being upgraded to a higher resolution component. M.I.C. Gadget notes that the new camera might not be 8MP because "production costs are too high."

Lastly, a shot from Chinese Weiphone forums claims that an Apple A5X system on a chip will be at the heart of the iPad 3. This varies from previous rumors of the iPad 3 will ship with an "A6" (quad-core) processor.

Update: MacRumors notes that a date code of "1146" can be seen stamped on the the A5X, indicating that it was manufactured in the 46th week of 2011, or November 14-20.

MacRumors calls the A5X a "step-wise upgrade to the A5." Its part number ("S5L8945X"), which was revealed by BGR in February, would support the incremental upgrade theory. The A4 was known to be the S5L8930X, the A5 as the S5L8940X and the new iPad processor is S5L8945X, with "45" suggesting only a 50 percent upgrade over the A5. Presumably an A6 processor would have a part number of S5L8950X -- if the current naming convention was followed. If true, this photo casts serious doubt on the the new SoC being a quad-core.

Apple's own branding of "A5X," suggest that it's more likely an enhanced version of the A5. Perhaps Apple will dub it the "A5 eXtreme?"

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.
He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging....
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Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage: Amazon Associates and Google Adsense. Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.